Ah, Wilderness!

Ah, Wilderness! is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 2 October 1933. It varies from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a happy family in turn of the century America.

The play was successful in its first Broadway production and the touring production that followed. It has since become a staple of community repertory.

Plot summary

The play takes place on the Fourth of July, 1906, and focuses on the Miller family, presumably of New London, Connecticut. The main plot deals with the middle son, 16-year-old Richard, and his coming of age in turn of the twentieth-century America. "Perhaps the most atypical of the author’s works, the play presents a sentimental tale of youthful indiscretion in a turn-of-the-century New England town."

Title

The title derives from Quatrain XII of Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (5th edition, 1889), one of Richard's favorite poems:

Ah, Wilderness! (disambiguation)

Ah, Wilderness! is a 1932 play by Eugene O'Neill.

Ah, Wilderness may also refer to:

Ah, Wilderness! (film)

Ah, Wilderness! is a 1935 American film adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play of the same name starring Wallace Beery. The picture was shot in Grafton, Massachusetts, at the common in the center of town, and was directed by Clarence Brown. Beery plays the drunken uncle later portrayed on Broadway by Jackie Gleason, and the film features Lionel Barrymore, Eric Linden, Cecilia Parker, Spring Byington, and a young Mickey Rooney. Rooney also stars in MGM's musical remake Summer Holiday (1948).

The film holds the dubious distinction of being the first to advertise in trade papers for Academy Award nominations, depicting a cartoon of MGM's Leo the Lion holding an Oscar and proudly stating "You've given so much, Leo ... Get ready to receive!" Nevertheless, the film failed to receive a single nomination.

Cast